Season opened
by GraeLeigh3
Summary: Law & Order, Law & Order SVU crossover. Post Open season, 13x07, Law&Order.
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer  
**They are not mine, they belong to NBC, its authors, creators and crew. I'm not making any money of this, it's just for my own fun, and yours if I'm lucky.  
Time line : post "Open season", season 13 episode 7.

_**Prologue **_

Seated confortably in the wooden rockingchair, the blond haired woman gathered closer the blanket draped over her shoulders.  
She could feel the afternoon sun baths the room and fall on her, but she felt desesparatly cold.  
She needed to feel the sun, she needed to see it.

From the doorframe, leaning against it, azel eyes eyed her from the distance, deep frown darkening her features.  
For ages, she hadn't heard from her, then one night the phone rang, remembering her a promise they made to each other five years ago: always be there and take care of her former lover.  
Although, due mainly to her own line of work, she always expected it to be the other way around. She kept her promise and ran to the hospital as fast the New York 1 am traffic would let her.

At first, there weren't even sure she'd survive her injuries which were quite important ; two bullets had hit her, one collapsing a lung.  
Then, once her spleen was removed, it turned out that the trauma caused by her fall on the car mirror was the most serious injury, the optical nerves damaged.

So here she was now, five years after their break up, Detective Olivia Benson was reunited with a now blind Serena Southerlyn.

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_End of prologue, let me know what you think. Thanks :)_


	2. Trust

Ok folks here is chapter 1, hope you'll like it :)

It was hard, damn hard to witness the condition Serena was now in.

At the hospital, she put a brave face to her colleagues but Olivia knew it was a matter of time before it all came crashing down.  
She didn't question Serena, press her to talk to her. Their story as lovers helped her to be an efficient friend rather than a pressing friend.

On her first trip at the hospital, when she arrived there, she didn't pay any attention to those waiting for news on Serena's conditions. It hit her much later that most of them where from the same precinct only their division were different.  
She knew they had all been in the same situation at least once before, waiting for news on a loved one, they would resent her for this behavior.

She knew her family wouldn't be there, they never forgave her for choosing her own path. After refusing an arranged wedding, moving to New York was the last straw, she never heard from her family ever again.  
Was it for the best? Hard to tell but as much as she kept saying the opposite, she was suffering from it.

Doctor Mitchell, head of the ER, was waiting for her at the entrance. They knew each other pretty well due to their respective work; they valued each other's opinion.  
Besides there was a certain urgency in taking decisions for Serena.

He guided her towards the room she was in, dead pale, tubes, beeping/noisy machines surrounding her, keeping her alive.  
She had listened carefully to Doctor Mitchell gentle explanations on Serena's condition, the extend of her injuries and how they may affect her future.  
If she survived…

Other specialists gave some of their time as well.

But in the end, she was all alone to take the decision: should she let Serena endure all this, pray for a healthy future without sequel, or shield her from all this pain?

In one word, should she kill her?

She knew Serena trusted her to take the right decision.  
But did she trust herself?

_End of chapter 1 ... so worth it? Let me know what you thinking :D_


	3. Her

Hello all, below is chapter 2 of my fic dedicated to Serena Southerlyn, and Law&Order in general.  
Thanks for the readers and reviewers, it means a lot to me :D

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**Chapter 2 Her**

"So that's her?" comes Elliot's question as he reaches my side.

"Her?" I ask, not understanding his question, too caught in watching Serena's through the sliding room doors.

"Yeah her. You know the her you can't forget but never talk about" he jokes.

I've always been mesmerized as how easily he can read me when he put some effort in it. Guess that comes with being partners for so long.

"Yeah that's her" I reply simply with a heavy sigh.

Over the past three days all I've been able to think about is my past with Serena. How well we were together, the jokes we shared, our hopes.  
Only the happy times come to my mind. The sad one, the break up doesn't.  
It's weird. I watch her fighting for her life, fighting for every breath, yet every once in awhile, a smile comes to my lips as memories surface.

Yesterday I tried to call her father who happens to live only 2 hours drive from New York City. After a couple unsuccessful attempts and messages left on his answering machine which he never returned, I finally had him on line. He was cold on the phone, showing no emotions as I exposed his daughter's condition. He was just silent, asked nothing.

Part of me wanted to yell at him like it could shake him and see that he was close to loose his daughter.

The other part was thankful. Thankful since it proved me how Serena was right about him, about their relationship. Thankful that he didn't ask any medical question. Serena's will is very strict, I am the one in charge for any medical decision like she is for me, but if somehow he thought about her as his daughter, instead of just a name on a birth certificate, I don't myself going in court fight him over Serena, exposing their past of fights, trials.

Serena was a lawyer in this city, no need to make that kind of information about her personal life available to about anyone.

She hadn't slept much over the last three days. Cragen has offered her the time she needed, not questioning her motives in that matter.  
Plus she had about 60 days of untaken vacations she was supposed to use as soon as possible. So it was fine that way.  
Although she doubted two months would be enough.

It would take days before Serena woke up, weeks before she got released from the hospital. Olivia could have postponed taking those days off, she was not really useful now that the main medication decisions have been taken, but she wanted to be here, she needed to.  
Besides, there was no way she could take her mind off Serena, might as well stay close.

Laying like this, she looked so peaceful, quite the opposite from the last time she saw her. It was six months ago, she went to meet with DA Arthur Branch on a very heinous crime. She was waiting outside his office for his previous meeting to be over.  
When the door opened, DA McCoy came out, in a heated talk with a blond haired woman. It took her a double take to recognize Serena, last time she saw her she was still a brunette. The ask blond emphasized her azure eyes.  
As she passed by her, she didn't look up from her file; too busy pointing something to Jack McCoy.

She still didn't know how she might have reacted if she had.  
Would she have done as if she didn't recognize her? Five years later, she might still resent Olivia for breaking up.  
God knew she blamed herself ever since this encounter.

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_End of chapter 2 ... so what ya say, worth continuing :)_


	4. Musing

Hello all ! Well it lloks like my muse is finally back, let's try and see what you think about this ...

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**Musing**

_Serena Southerlyn's apartment - 3 am_  
  
Standing by the window, I'm once more mesmerized by her beauty, her strength. I've been lying in bed for the last four hours, unable to sleep. Although for once in weeks, Serena's sleep in peaceful. I guess I got used to hold her in my arms for so many nights.  
Now that she doesn't need me, they feel empty.

And that's fine. She wouldn't be able to go on any longer with so little sleep. The black bags under her baby blue eyes, her skinny features giving me nightmares.

The doctors gave her heavy medication for her insomnia, but none of them could fight this kind of fear. The fear only people who went under heavy surgery and through heavy dependency can resent: the fear of letting go. The fear of sleep itself. Like if they slept they'd never wake up. It's the kind of fear no medication would never fight.

So I waited patiently, we both did. Endless sleepless nights where Serena would hand to me for dear life. Nights where I'd hold her as fiercely, afraid to let her down, trying desperately to help her fight demons only she'd see. So now that she's finally resting, I'm the insomniac.

It gives me time to think, to watch her. I long to touch her, to feel her body against mine but I don't want to risk her much needed rest. So here I am, 3 am, standing by the barely open window, watching the woman of my life sleep.

I smile at this. Months ago, before this entire ordeal started, Serena Southerlyn hadn't entered my mind in ages. And now to be honest, she didn't because I didn't allow her to. I denied her memory to enter my mind, my world. But in the past two months, she's invaded it on a 24 hours basis.  
Sure proximity helped, but it wasn't that only.

She's lying on her right side, holding a pillow to her chest like a lover would. Like she held me in the past, snuggled to my side, her arm draped across my waist and her head nestled in my neck. The only she and I too, could sleep. Is it still the case? I'd have to ask her someday; although I'm not sure I'd be happy to hear the details of her sleeping arrangements with her lovers.

Sighing, I'm willing this train of thoughts to vanish. But the sight of her sleeping naked, a white sheet barely covering her muscular body, can't help my mind to wander in that territory. Her right foot pokes from under the sheet, revealing bone colour strapping.  
Once more a minimal detail brings my mind back to that day where those fucking assholes white supremacists tried to take Serena's life.  
Well technically they didn't, their target was Jack Mc Coy, Serena's direct boss.  
She was just some kind of collateral damage.

She was glad she hadn't been at the precinct when that skinhead turned himself in. The news of the shooting made all NY newspapers headlines for weeks. Seems like all his friends turned their back to him, especially after his "mistake". After all shooting the A DA's assistant who happened to be blond, with blue eyes, and German native was more than they were ready to cover. So they let him down.

With nowhere to hide, with all NY cops after him, he turned himself in five weeks after the murder attempt.

Sighing, Olivia Benson decided to try to get some sleep.

She kept fighting the idea to join Serena in bed, fearing that the movement would wake her up. But she although knew that if Serena woke up alone in the middle of the night, she'd be pretty scared to be alone in bed. She gave in. Patting barefoot to the bed, she climbed noiselessly next to Serena holding her breath a long moment, making sure the younger woman was still asleep.

Then she released her breath and went in to contemplate the ceiling till dawn, listening to Serena's breathing.

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_End of this chapter ... so ... any thoughts/reviews?_


	5. Confession

Hello! I'm so sorry for the lack of updates on this ... it has been soo long I last updated, I hope not everyone forgot about this fic :)  
As always, readers and reviews welcomed :D

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**Chapter 5**** Confession**

**Serena Southerlyn's apartment – 4:45 pm**

- "Why?"  
- "Excuse me?"  
- "Why are you still here?"  
- "What do you mean?"  
- "Only what I said Liv, don't play dumb with me"  
- "I don't play dumb Serena, I'm just trying to understand", I respond with a touch of irritability.

God knows I'm not a violent person but lately Serena has really being getting on my nerves. Every word is a reason for her to snap at me. Sure she has every reason to be upset, I'm not that stupid, but her anger, and her aggressivity is really getting to me.

She sighs heavily and all of a sudden I've this urge to strangle her. She's just sprawled on the sofa, clad in black baggy jeans and white tank top, barefeet. She's been in the same position all day long. We went to see her doctor this morning and the news weren't all that great. Sequels from the murder attempt taking a lot of time to heal. So it's getting to her, and she's getting to me. "Butterfly effect".

Sitting on the coffee table, I face her, laying my hands on hers. She jumps a little, more from heat than fear, her hands are icy cold. Taking them gently I rub them between mine, bending from time to time to breath on them, wishing to warm them faster.  
We stay like this a long moment, both caught in our thoughts.

When she finally speaks, her tone is neutral, defeated.  
- "You left me", she pauses before going on, "you left me back then but today you are here. Why?"  
- "Why are you asking Serena? Would you rather be alone?"  
- "No", she answers truthfully, "no, but I don't understand your reasons"  
- "I need reasons?", I'm surprised by her sarcastic laugh  
- "We all have our reasons Liv. Fear, need, and urge … pity" she whispers, biting on her lower lip.  
- "So that's what's bothering you. You think I'm here only because I pity you"

She nods, her cheeks turning bright red.  
- "I don't need reason Serena, I want to be here. For you"

I let this sink in before asking her something that has been on my mind for ages.  
- "Why didn't you destroy it? The will …."  
- "I don't know…I guess…I…I don't know", she admits in a low voice.  
- "See, not everyone has a reason to do something?", I respond in a joyful voice. After a minute or so, I'm rewarded by a smile creeping her lips.

Unable to resist, I crouch by her side on the sofa and pull her into a tight hug.

I feel the softness of her skin and the wetness of her lips as she snuggles her face between my neck and shoulder.

- "I'm sorry Liv…I keep snapping at you. Maybe you'd go"  
- "I'm not going anywhere Serena. My place is here, with you"  
- "But…"  
- "No buts Serena. We already covered this: I'm here because I want to. I want to be here for as long as you need me".  
- "It might be long…", she retorts.  
- "Fine by me", I answer with a huge smile. "So what do you say about some nice stove made popcorn?"  
- "Only if I get to make them", she answers deadpanned, failing miserably not to laugh.  
- "I have a better idea: you relax and I take care of everything, ok?"  
- "Trying to take advantage of me Detective?"  
- "Ouch that hurts Serena", I respond before sitting up.

Planting a kiss on top of her head, I tickle her before retreating to the kitchen.

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_Coming out of writer's block is a pain, I promise to try to make it longer next chapter :D_


	6. Chapter 6

Found a couple pages written down, so I figured I might share them with you, let's hope you'll like, even after three years !

Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

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- "Serena, Serena, do you hear me?"  
- "Hmmm"  
- "That's it, open your eyes Serena"  
- "Hmmm"  
- "No, no Serena. No !", she shouted to rose her. "I know you are in pain, I know you want to die to make it stop but it's not an option here Serena. Do you hear me? Stay with me Serena, stay with me!"

For the next ten minutes, Lt Anita Van Buren shouted and struggled with ADA's assistant Serena Southerlyn, keeping her awake until the paramedics eventually showed up, but that wasn't the end of their nightmare.

- "Ok where's your agent?" queried the young Doctor as soon as he reached her.  
- "Excuse me?" she looked up, hands still clasping Serena's wounds.  
- "You requested emergency paramedics for an "agent down", he quoted her using his fingers, "so where is your agent? We dropped everything since we were on the other side of the city".

If she didn't feel Serena's strength leaving her body little by little, she'd have taken the time to laugh at that one. With a shrug she motioned to Serena's body.

When the Doctor didn't move, she glared at him.  
- "What's the matter with you?", she shouted so loudly that it covered all the noise surrounding them, cops auditioning the witnesses, traffic, wailing sirens and helicopters who were securing the area.  
- "M'am, all I'm saying is that the lady here is clearly not a police officer. Our boss made us drop everything because your call stated an agent was down. She's not an agent! She wasn't priority!"

Anita had to remind herself that she was Serena's best chance to live as she fought hard not to strangle the young Doctor standing stupidly.

- "Look" she inhaled deeply "Ok she's not a cop, but she's the ADA's assistant, same family"  
- "But …"  
- "I'm not finished!", she shouted even louder than before "Same family, law family. Now get your ass and hands in action before she dies from lack of medical cares"  
- "My boss …", he began but was soon silenced by an icy glare

- "Your boss will get a whole explanation don't worry", came a throaty voice behind them, Jack Mc Coy's voice.

Soon they were joined by Detectives Briscoe and Green, clearly pissed by the whole situation, a hand covering their holsters.

- "Now attend to the lady's condition before …", he didn't finish their sentence as the Doctor was hastily kneeling by Serena's side, checking her condition and radioing his recommendations to the waiting hospital.

Once freed, Anita Van Buren didn't trust her let to support her so she sat on the floor a foot away from Serena's body whose eyes were barely open, unfocused.

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_Reviews, I just love every single one :p_


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